Friday Five

1. My kids have become better than an alarm clock. They both get up at 7 am every day. SonA helps SonB get out of his crib, and then they come in our room. It's a pretty cute wakeup call... but I do wish there was some way to get them to sleep in, at least on Saturday. Oh well!

2. There are certain books that maybe aren't the best to read when you're pregnant, emotional, and already having really weird dreams every night. Though it was really good, all the zombies and death and hopelessness and zombies was a little much for me right now. Lesson learned. Wait to read Carrie Ryan's books until I'm NOT pregnant. And when I'm not going to cry at the part where Catcher talks about the little boy he couldn't save...

3. Isn't it amazing how a book can completely change your mood? I knew I needed something to read that was a little bit... um, less horrorifying after the way The Dark and Hollow Places affected me. I picked up Hex Hall, and so far it was just what I needed. A snarky, fun protag and no zombies in sight. At least, not yet. My dreams were noticeably less filled with half-destroyed bodies of the dead coming after me and my children and my unborn baby.

4. Writing is like eating. You think you're full, and couldn't ever eat again after you stuff yourself (or do a writing marathon); but without fail, you always get hungry again. In the same way, I always want to write again, no matter how burned out I may feel one day. By the next, I am craving it again.

5. Is anyone else a little bit freaked out by how expensive gas is? And that they're predicting it's going to go even higher... and no one seems to be that bothered about it? Wasn't everyone freaking out about gas being this expensive a couple years ago? Why is it okay now? I'm nervous it's going to stay this price forever now. Ugh.

So those are my thoughts today. What's on your mind this Friday? Have a great weekend!

Carrie Ryan isn't as dark or hollow as you might think...

Okay, so I honestly knew she wasn't dark or hollow, but since her book is called THE DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES, well... I was glad to know for certain that she is actually funny, and smart (a former lawyer!), and inspiring. I was lucky enough to go with Natalie Whipple to see her and get her new book signed last night. I'm so excited that more and more YA authors are coming to SLC to do signings! It is so fun to get out, meet new authors, and see all of my author/writer/book blogging friends in the community.

James Dashner (not only are they friends, they share the same editor), Carrie Ryan, Me, Natalie Whipple

Like I said, I adore going to author signings. I love meeting them, learning about their journeys--well, just learning from them period. Carrie was so inspiring. (Plus she is an absolutely amazing author. Her way with words is absolutely breathtaking. Who else could make a book about zombies into something so beautiful?)

She has an amazing story, but I won't give you all the details here. One of the biggest points she made that stuck with me is to make a plan, and stick with it. She made a ten year plan: she told herself she was going to write a book a year, and revise it, and submit it (be it to agents or editors) every year for ten years. Her goal was to be a full time author by year ten. She reached her goal around year six or seven. (hopefully I got the details right, I'm going off memory.) She (and I) firmly believe in the power of writing goals down, and doing what it takes to make them reality. If you haven't yet, go make some short and long term goals, and write them down. Then do what it takes to make it happen.

Beyond being smart and inspiring, she really lived up to Kiersten White's claim that she's funny. We were laughing the whole time. If you have the chance to see her, I highly recommend it.

Also, she may burn a book and then give it away.

Huh? Yeah, she used I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER by Dan Wells to block the projector while she was talking, and when she picked it back up she'd burned the cover a little bit. I ended up winning it (woohoo!) and Dan was there, so he personalized it for me. Here's what he wrote:

"Sara - this book was personally burned by Carrie Ryan. Dan Wells."

I love book signings.